Ict and Banking Industry

A PROJECT REPORT ON THE EFFECT OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY ON THE EFFECIENCY OF BANKING INDUSTRY (IN UDAIPUR CITY) IN THE PARTIAL FULLFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (MBA) 2007-2009 PACIFIC INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, UDAIPUR Post Box No. 12, Pratap Nagar Extension, Airport road Udaipur-313003 Ph: 0294-2491340 E mail: [email  protected] om,[email  protected] com Submitted by: Submitted to: Chanda Joshi Mr. Dhiraj Jain MBA Part-2 Asstt. Professor, PIM ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Industrialists in professional life are likely and keenly aware of their sense of indebtness to many people who have stimulated & influenced their intellectual development in ordinarily.The feeling is formally expressed in customary gestures of acknowledgement therefore it seems only right to acknowledgement my gratitude with sense of veneration to the almighty & various people helped me to work in systematic & smoother manner. I would like to express my profound thanks to all the respondents who were co-operative enough and spared their valuable time in filling up the questionnaire. Words are not in lexicon to express my sincere sense of gratitude for my mentor, elite guide and path Mr. Dhiraj Jain and, Prof. B.P SHARMA (Director, pacific institute of Management) whose valuable guidance instigating encouragement creative thoughts & constructive criticism had helped me to accomplish this research work successfully. CHANDA JOSHI PREFACE The explosive growth of information and communication technology (ICT) is swiftly changing the banking industry and stern competition between the increasing numbers of banks has resulted in high investment on ICT. This report discusses the effect of ICT on banking industry (service) in Udaipur city with reference to public and private banks.Two Questionnaires were used to collect data from diverse customers and bank employees separately; the customers and bank employees accept as true that ICT has an effect on bankin g industry in India. The results of study undoubtedly show the massive impact of ICT on the performance of the banking industry in India. INDEX PARTICULARS DESCRIPTION 1. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 2. PREFACE 3. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4. INTRODUCTION 5. INDUSTRY PROFILE 6. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 7. DATA INTERPRETATION 8. FINDINGS,CONCLUSIONS . RECOMMENDATIONS 10. QUESTIONNAIRE 11. BIBLIOGRAPHY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Advances in the banking sector have ushered in an era of multi – product and multi – service being delivered using multiple yet integrated channels. The use of information and communication technology (ICT) is on the increase and encompasses nearly the entire gamut of banking operations. Rising competition and customer expectations have compelled top management implement, and continuously upgrade, agile scalable ICT practices and solutions.The enormity and range of banking services combined with the complexity of integrated and ICT – enabled delivery mechanisms require com prehensive partnerships to be forged between banks and providers of ICT solutions. ICT has a crucial role to play in the financial sector in at least three main areas: improving the range and efficiency of banking services available to customers, lowering costs increasing the efficiency of capital markets, and allowing for more effective regulations of all types of financial markets and related transactions.The use of ICT enables a better delivery of banking services to both depositors and borrowers within a country and between countries. ICT has a central role in the operation of various capital markets such as stock markets, bond markets and foreign exchange markets, and it is intensively used by market organizers, market professionals and investors in this markets. ICT is also an essential tool for supervisory or regulatory bodies of these markets at both national and international levels.This research presents the preliminary findings of a research study to identify the effect o f implementation of ICT on the efficiency of banks in Udaipur. The methodology includes the collection of data by the questionnaire survey. Two types of questionnaires are to be prepared for the data collection- One questionnaire has been distributed among the customers to know the efficiency of the banking services by using ICT. The second questionnaire is to be filled by the officials of the banks, which will provide information about the need, & importance of the ICT for the efficiency of the bank.Chapter 1 INDUSTRY PROFILE INDUSTRY PROFILE What is banking? Bank may be defined as a financial institution which is engaged in the business of keeping money for savings and checking accounts or for exchange or for issuing loans and credit etc. A set of services intended for private customers and characterized by a higher quality than the services offered to retail customers. Based on the notion of tailor-made services, it aims to offer advice on investment, inheritance plans and provid e active support for general transactions and the resolution of asset-related problems.The essential function of a bank is to provide services related to the storing of deposits and the extending of credit. Basic function may include Credit collection, Issuer of banking notes, Depositor of money and lending loans. Now a days banking is  not in its  traditional way, with the advancement of technology its focusing  on more  comfort of customer  providing services such as: †¢Online Banking †¢ Investment Banking †¢ Electronic Banking †¢ Internet Banking †¢ PC Banking /Mobile Banking †¢ E-Banking The importance of banking sector is immense in the progress and prosperity of any State or country.INDIAN BANKING INDUSTRY The growth in the Indian Banking Industry has been more qualitative than quantitative and it is expected to remain the same in the coming years. Based on the projections made in the â€Å"India Vision 2020† prepared by the Plann ing Commission and the Draft 10th Plan, the report forecasts that the pace of expansion in the balance-sheets of banks is likely to decelerate. The total assets of all scheduled commercial banks by end-March 2010 are estimated at Rs 40, 90,000 crores. That will comprise about 65 per cent of GDP at current market prices as compared to 67 per cent in 2002-03.Bank assets are expected to grow at an annual composite rate of 13. 4 per cent during the rest of the decade as against the growth rate of 16. 7 per cent that existed between 1994-95 and 2002-03. It is expected that there will be large additions to the capital base and reserves on the liability side. Banks in India can be categorized into non-scheduled banks and scheduled banks. Scheduled banks constitute of commercial banks and co-operative banks. There are about 67,000 branches of Scheduled banks spread across India. During the first phase of financial reforms, there was a nationalization of 14 major banks in 1969.This crucial s tep led to a shift from Class banking to Mass banking. Since then the growth of the banking industry in India has been a continuous process. The Public Sector Banks (PSBs), which are the base of the Banking sector in India account for more than 78 per cent of the total banking industry assets. Unfortunately they are burdened with excessive Non Performing assets (NPAs), massive manpower and lack of modern technology. On the other hand the Private Sector Banks are making tremendous progress. They are leaders in Internet banking, mobile banking, phone banking, ATMs.As far as foreign banks are concerned they are likely to succeed in the Indian Banking Industry. Indus land Bank was the first private bank to be set up in India. In the Indian Banking Industry some of the Private Sector Banks operating are IDBI Bank, ING Vyasa Bank, SBI Commercial and International Bank Ltd, Dhanalakshmi Bank Ltd,Karur Vysya Bank Ltd, Bank of Rajasthan Ltd etc are some private sector banks. Banks from the P ublic Sector include Punjab National bank, Vijaya Bank, UCO Bank, Oriental Bank, Allahabad Bank , Andhra Bank etc.ANZ Grindlays Bank, ABN-AMRO Bank, American Express Bank Ltd, Citibank are some of the foreign banks operating in the Indian Banking Industry . CHAPTER-2 INTRODUCTION ————————————————- Meaning of ICT The term â€Å"ICT† describes the use of computer – based technology and the internet to make information and communication service available to a wide rang of users. The term is used broadly to address a range of technologies, including telephones. Central to these is the Internet, which provides the mechanism for transporting data in a number of formats including text, images, sound, and video.Additionally, ICT deals with the application layer, the systems that enable information to be collected and distributed, analyzed, and processed. However, whi le ICT is generally adaptable to different information. Needs and circumstances, its effectiveness in solving development issues still depends on the content it carries. ————————————————- The New Era The 21st century will bring about an all – embracing convergence of computing, communication, information and knowledge. This will radically change the way we live work and think.The growth of high – speed networks, coupled with the falling cost of computing power, is making possible application under dream of in the past. Voice, data, images, and video may now be transferred around the world in microseconds. This explosion of technology is changing the banking industry from paper and branch banks to’ digitized and networked banking services. It has already changed the internal accounting and management systems of banks. It is now fundamentally changing th e delivery systems banks use to interact with their customers.All over the world, banks are still struggling to find a technological solution to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing environment. It is clear that this new technology is changing the banking industry forever. Banks with the ability to invest and integrate information technology will become dominate in the highly competitive global market. Bankers are convinced that investing in IT is critical. Its potential and consequences on the banking industry future is enormous. ————————————————- Technology and Banks Transformation ————————————————-Computers are getting more sophisticated. They have given banks a potential they could only dream about and have given bank customers high expectations. The cha nges that new technologies have brought to banking are enormous in their impact on officers, employees, and customers of banks. Advances in technology are allowing for delivery of banking products and services more conveniently and effectively then ever before- thus creating new based of competition. Rapid access to critical information and the ability to act quickly and effectively will distinguish the successful banks of the future.The bank gains a vital competitive advantage by having a direct marketing and accountable customer service environment and new, streamlined business processes. Consistent management decision support system provides the bank that competitive edge to forge ahead in the banking market place. ————————————————- ————————————————- Major app lication: – The advantage accruing from computerization are three-directional – to the customer, to the bank, and to the employee. ————————————————- ———————————————— For the customer ————————————————- ————————————————- Banks are aware of customer’s need for new services and plan to make them available. It has increased the level of competition and forced them to integrate the new technologies in order to satisfy there customers. They have already developed and implemented a certain number of solutions among them: —à ¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- * ————————————————-Self – inquiry Facility: ————————————————- Facility for logging into specified self – inquiry terminals at the branch to inquire and view the transaction in the account * ————————————————- Remote banking: ————————————————- Remote terminals at the customer site connected to the respective branch through a modem, enabling the customer to make inquires regarding his accounts, on-line, without ha ving to move from is office. * ————————————————-Anytime banking- Anywhere banking : ————————————————- Installation of ATMs which offer non-stop cash withdrawal, remittances inquiry facilities. Networking of computerized branches inter-city and intra-city, will permit customers of these branches, when interconnected, to transact from any of these branches. * ————————————————- Telebanking: ————————————————- 24- Hour service through which enquiries regarding balances and transactions in the account can be made over the phone. ——â₠¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- Electronic banking : ————————————————- This enables the bank to provide corporate or high value customers with graphical user interface (GUI) software on a PC, to inquire about their. Financial transaction and accounts, cash transfers, chequebook issue and inquiry on rates without visiting the bank: Moreover, the customer can send LC text and details on bills, and the bank can download the same. The technology used to provide this service is called electronic data interchange (EDI).It used to transmit business transaction in computer – readable from between organization and individuals in a standard format. * ————————————————- As information is cen tralized and updates are available simultaneously at all places, single – window service become possible, leaving to effective reduction in waiting time. For the bank:- During the last decade, banks applied IT to a wide range of back and front office tasks in addition to a great number of new products. The major advantages for the bank to implement IT are: Availability of a wide range of inquiry facilities, assisting the bank in business development and follow – up. * Immediate replies to customers queries without reference to ledger-keeper as terminals are provide to mangers and chief mangers * Generation of various MIS reports & periodical returns on due dates.. * Automatic and prompt carrying out of standing instructions on due date and generation of reports. * Fast and up-to-date information transfer enabling speedier decisions by interconnecting computerized branches and controlling offices.For the employees – IT has increased this productivity through the followings: * Accurate computing of cumbersome and time – consuming jobs such as balancing and interest calculation on due dates. * Automatic printing of covering schedules, deposit receipts, passbook / pass sheet, freeing the staff from performing these time – consuming jobs, and enabling them to give more attention to the needs of customers. * Signature retrieval facility, assisting in verification of transactions, seating at their on terminal. * Avoidance of duplication of entries due to existence of single – point data entry.A search of the banking literature reveals that banks are moving rapidly to take advantage of recent and new customer service and cost reduction opportunities that new technologies offer. IMPORTANCE OF INFORMATION & COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY The internet is rapidly becoming the information superhighway of a global electronic marketplace. The rising commercial interests in the internet are especially evident in â€Å"front-end† appl ication such as electronic catalogs, yellow pages, storefronts, malls, and customer support centers.All this application are based on the world wide Web (WWW) – the fastest growing segment of the Internet. Although â€Å"back-end† applications such as electronic data interchange (EDI) are equally important, their adoption has not been as rapid. One major concern is security:: the Internet is generally perceived as not secure enough for transmitting sensitive data such as payments. Upon a closer look, however, this view is not warranted, since technologies such as public key encryption and firewalls address essential security concerns.Moreover, such technologies are already available. The only remaining barrier is the lack of real world users of those technologies. Investing in technology According to a survey conducted by the American Bankers Association, US banks expenditure on information technology grew from $ 16. 3 billion in 1994 to $ 18. 7 billion in 1995  œ an increase of 14. 7%, and $ 1 billion more than the same bankers forecasted they would spend in last year’s survey. By 1998, the banks expect to spend $ 21. 2 billion (an increase of 7. 1%) The New Delivery Systems.The increasing cost of building brick-and-mortar branches, decreasing cost of computers, high delivery costs and slow revenue growth force a relook at the conventional delivery systems. Moreover, growing comfort of technology usage by the customer is rapidly fostering usage of non – branch channels for routine transactions. The new strategy changes the focus of the branch from being a high cost transaction center to a provider of a wide range of services like telebanking, customer service kiosks, ATM’s, and remote electronic banking.New Marketing Opportunities As the new technology is so expensive banks need to use the new systems to do more than deliver information and basic services. Banks need the ability to also sell insurance and investment pr oducts to get a better return on this investment. Telephone banking can bring financial services to the home or office, especially if they are affordable screen phones. By noticing how much interest the customer expresses, the bank can market stock quotes and insurance quotes.Interactive videos are new technology that banks can make available to the customers to maintain personal contact while still lowering the expenses of delivery service. With an interactive video an expert employee is not needed in each branch. Complex life insurance products, open brokerage accounts, customized product illustrations can be widely available where needed. The interactive videos will be cost effective expertise. The internet is a medium to allow banks to offer products to customers outside the normal customer base of a branch.Banks are aware of the customer’s need for these services and plan to make them available before other sources do. THE EFFECT OF ICT ON BANKS Banks is an unusual firm because it does not produce any object or tangible product, like a farmer producing rice or Cement Companies producing bags of cement. On any business day, a bank receives information, stores information, processed information, and distributes information. A saving deposit is recorded, an entry is made in someone’s account, at the right time interest is added, and the customer is periodically provided with a ummary statement. A loan application is received, a file is started, the application is assessed by a loan officer, and the client is either rejected or provided with a credit. Each of these functions can be handled by hand with ledger and pens or, today, they can be handled entirely by data entry, computers, and information systems. What ICT does for a bank is to make a dramatic reduction in the costs of handling information and in the transaction costs to the bank and customer of handling a deposit or loan.Clearly, this reduction benefits both the bank and its customers . The impact of high transaction costs is even more acute in rural areas and gravely Inhibits access even to basic financial services. Out on-going field work shows that a formal lending rate for a farm loan of, say, 15 percent is not sufficient to switch business away from informal lenders who charge a rate of 40 percent or higher. ICT not only increase the efficiency of bank operations but permits banks to offer a wider array of services such as ATMs, telephonic banking, and computer banking.ICT facilities the deeper penetration of credit card services, thereby expediting business transaction. Behind the scenes an ICT system would permit banks to speed up inter bank check clearing and engage in electronic funds transfer such as direct debiting or salary deposits. A credit bureau would enable banks to obtain accurate and immediate information about a customer’s credit history and rating, thus lowering risks, costs, and interest rates. What is perhaps less well – known , is that ICT dose not merely lower information and transactions costs and improve bank efficiency and services.With the development or proper accounting and reporting standards, an ICT system also improves the ability of bank and capital market regulators to track the information they need to regulate financial markets . ICT can help takes and customs authorities to expedite revenue collections and if properly handled it can greatly reduce the potential for unwarranted side payments. Role of information technology in banking industry I. T. in Banking: 1). Technology has opened up new markets, new products, new services and efficient delivery channels for the banking industry.Online electronics banking, mobile banking and internet banking are just a few examples. 2). Information Technology has also provided banking industry with the wherewithal to deal with the challenges the new economy poses. Information technology has been the cornerstone of recent financial sector reforms aimed at increasing the speed and reliability of financial operations and of initiatives to strengthen the banking sector. 3). The IT revolution has set the stage for unprecedented increase in financial activity across the globe.The progress of technology and the development of world wide networks have significantly reduced the cost of global funds transfer. 4). It is information technology which enables banks in meeting such high expectations of the customers who are more demanding and are also more techno-savvy compared to their counterparts of the yester years. They demand instant, anytime and anywhere banking facilities. 5). IT has been providing solutions to banks to take care of their accounting and back office requirements. This has, however, now given way to large scale usage in services aimed at the customer of the banks.IT also facilitates the introduction of new delivery channels–in the form of Automated Teller Machines, Net Banking, Mobile Banking and the like. Further, IT deployment has assumed such high levels that it is no longer possible for banks to manage their IT implementations on a stand alone basis with IT revolution, banks are increasingly interconnecting their computer systems not only across branches in a city but also to other geographic locations with high-speed network infrastructure, and setting up local area and wide area networks and connecting them to the Internet.As a result, information systems and networks are now exposed to a growing number. Technology Products: (1). Net Banking (2). Credit Card Online (3). One View (4). InstaAlerts (5). Mobile Banking (6). NetSafe (7). e-Monies Electronic Fund Transfer (8). Online Payment of Excise & Service Tax (9). Phone Banking (10). Bill Payment (11). Shopping (12). Ticket Booking (13). Railway Ticket Booking through SMS (14). Prepaid Mobile Recharge (15). Smart Money Order (16). Card to Card Funds Transfer (17). Funds Transfer (ECheques) (18). Anywhere Banking (19). Internet Banking ( 20). Mobile Banking (21). [email  protected] (i) Express Delivery 22). Cash on Tap: (ii) Normal Delivery Chapter 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Research in common parlance refers to the search for knowledge. It can also be define as scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on specific topic. In fact, research is an art of scientific investigation research is a voyage of discovery . it is also said to be the pursuit of truth with the help of study , observation , comparison and experiment. The rule of research in several fields of applied economics weather related to business or to economy as a whole, has greatly influenced in modern times.The increasing complex nature of business and government has focused on the use of research in solving problem. According to Kiplinger â€Å"research is a systematic, controlled, empirical and critical investigation of hypothetical propositions about the presumed relation among natural phenomenon. Characteristic of Research : ? Research is a systematic and critical investigation into a Phenomenon ? Research is not a mere compilation, but a purposive investigation. ? It aims at describing, interpreting and explaining a phenomenon. ? It adopts scientific method. ? It is objective and logical. It is based upon the observable experience and empirical evidence. ? It is directed towards finding answers to pertinent question and Solution. Stage in Research Process : ? formulating the research problem ? Choice of research design ? Determining sources of data ? Designing data collection forms ? Determining sampling design and sampling size ? Organizing and conducting the field survey ? Processing and analyzing the collected data ? Preparing the research report RESEARCH OBJECTIVES : Objectives of the proposed study are as under:- 1) To study the effectiveness of ICT in banks of Udaipur city. (2) To study the effect of the ICT on service delivery of banks. RESEARCH DESIGN :- A Research Design specifies the methods and procedures for conducting a particular study. The researcher should specify the approach he intends to use with respect to the proposed study. Broadly speaking Research Designs can be groped in to 3 categories: 1. Exploratory research 2. Descriptive research 3. Casual Research For achieving the research objectives which are already stated clearly, The Descriptive Research method was adopted. SAMPLE SIZE :-It describes how many employees and customers of the bank should be surveyed 25 employees and 25 customers of private as well public banks were surveyed. SAMPLING TECHNIQUE:- Respondents were selected on the basis of convenience sampling in the certain private As well as public banks of Udaipur city SAMPLE UNIT :- For the study two types of samples are to be selected – (a) Customers of the banks (b) Bank Employees TOOLS OF DATA COLLECTION :- The following tools were used for the data collection: 1. Structured questionnaire: By asking the structured questions to the employees and customers by interviewing. . Review of written document: some part of this study was collected from the journals and books. CHAPTER-4 DATA INTERPRETATION Various banks in which these employees are working Various banks in which customers are having their accounts A. FOR THE CUSTOMERS Q. 1 TYPES OF ACCOUNTS? Interpretation: The above graph shows about the types of accounts of the customers in the bank. In it 76% have saving account ,12%of customers are having current & 12% 0f customers are having both type of account in the banks. Q. 2 Awareness of the changes due to ICT? Interpretation:The above graph shows the 98% of the customers are aware of the changes due to ICT, but very less ( 2% ) of customers were unaware of it. Q. 4 For last how many years is your bank using ICT? Interpretation: The76% customers respondents their bank using ICT for last 5 & above years and 24% of customer said that their bank is using ICT for the 0-5 years. Q. 5 is every department com puterized? Interpretation: 92% customers respond that every department is computerized in their bank but very few customers i. e. 8% said that every department is not computerized Q. Do you find any problem while using ICT? Interpretation: The above graph shows that 60% of customers find no difficulty while using ICT, 32% said it is very difficult to understand and 8%% find it difficult to operate. Q . 7 Do you find bank staff co-operating ? Interpretation: 97% of customers said that there bank staff is co-operating but 3% respond negatively. Q. 8 Do you think ICT has improved the service delivery of the bank? Interpretation: Above graph shows that the 82% of customers were strongly agreed and 18% were agreed that ICT has improved the service delivery of the bank. Q. Are you satisfied with the banking services providing you after using ICT? Interpretation: Above graph shows that the 82% of customers were strongly satisfied, 16% were agreed satisfied but only 2% were dissatisfied wit h the services providing to them after using ICT. Q. 10 Is any improvement required in this type of services? Interpretation: Above graph shows that the 84% of customers needed improvement in ICT, 16% said that no improvement is required. B. FOR BANK EMPLOYEES Q. 1 Awareness of the changes due to I. C. T. ? Interpretation: The above graph shows that awareness level of the respondents due to the hanges of I. C. T. 100% are aware with the changes due to the I. C. T. in the banks. Q. 2 Is your bank using I. C. T.? Interpretation: The all respondents said that their bank is using information and communication technology. Q. 3 For how long I. C. T. is used in this bank? Interpretation: The Above graph shows about the year of ICT using being used in banks . In it78% of the banks are using ICT from past 0-5 years. After that 22% of the banks are using I. C. T. from past 6-10 year. And no bank has experience to use the I. C. T . more than 11 years. Q. 4 Do you think that implementation of I . C.T. in banks is essential and effective in banks? Interpretation: The above graph shows that the implementation of I. C. T. in banks is very much essential and effective . 66% of employees are strongly agree with it & 34% of employees were agree. Q. 5 Has I. C. T. brought positive changes in your way of working? Interpretation: The above graph shows that the information and communication technology has brought very positive changes in the working way of doing job 68% respondents were strongly agree with it but the very least i. e. 2%of respondents were strongly disagree with the statement.Q. 6 Has I. C. T. brought the positive changes in this bank? Interpretation: 68% of employees accepted that I. C. T. has brought positive changes in their bank ,28% were agree with it but 4% of respondents were disagree with fact. Q. 7 Do you face any problem while using I. C. T.? Interpretation: 82% of the employees do not find any difficulty in using the new system. 10% of the employees find t he new system difficult to understand . 8% of the employees find difficulty in operating the new system. Q. 8 Has training been provided to the employees to use the new system tech. ?Interpretation: The above graph shows that 42% 0f employees were strongly agree that they got the training to use the new system technology, 36% were agree but 20% were disagree & 2% were strongly disagree about the getting of training for using the technology. Q. 9 Has I. C. T. improved the performance of the bank employees ? Interpretation: 66% of respondents were strongly agree that the I. C. T. has improved the performance in their bank, 30% were agree but the rest were disagree with this. Q. 10 Has I. C. T. lead to loss of jobs in banking sector? Interpretation:The above graph shows that 64%0f employees were strongly agree that I. C. T has lead to loss of jobs in banking sector,16% of employees were disagree with the statement. Q. 11 Has I. C. T. affected efficiency in banking services? Interpretat ion: The above graph shows that 68% 0f employees were strongly agree that I. C. T. has affected the banking services,30% were also agree & 2% were disagree with it. CHAPTER- 5 FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS Findings : 1. 66% of the customers respond that they are getting better services after using Information & communication technology. 2.It was found that 98% of customers & 100% of employees a were of the Changes due to new system technology. 3. It was found that 82% of customers strongly agreed that ICT has improved the Service delivery of the bank. 4. 98% of employees of employees accepted that the information & Communication technology has affected the banking service in positive Manner. 5. This was found that because of ICT has lead to the loss of jobs in banking sector. 6. During the study it was found that because of lower network connectivity Employees as well as customers were getting problem in service. . 100% of Employees as well as customers said that the imple mentation of I. C. T. is essential & effective in banks. Conclusion * Banks offering internet-based products and services should have reliable and secure methods to authenticate their customers. * The level of authentication used by the financial institution should be appropriate to the risk associated with those products and services. * Financial institution should conduct a risk assessment to identify the types and levels of risk associated with their internet banking application.Where risk assessments indicate that the use of single-factor authentication is inadequate, financial institutions should implement multifactor authentication, layered security, or other controls reasonably calculated to mitigate those risks, the agencies consider single-factor authentication, as the only control mechanism, to be inadequate in the case of high risk transaction involving access to customer information or the movement of funds to other parties. * Most of the customers are satisfied with the services provided by banks. The objective of the study was to find out the effect of information & communication Technology on the efficiency of banking sector in certain private as well as public banks, It was to find out how service delivery is effected after using the ICT in banks. * The study concludes that information & communication technology plays more significant role in the increasing of the banking efficiency in both, private as well as public sector banks. RECOMMENDATIONS:- ? Raise awareness and promote the concept of information &Communication technology among the customers as well as bank Employees. The method of authentication used in a specific internet application Should be appropriate and reasonable, from a business perspective, In light of the reasonably foreseeable risks in that application. ? Conduct training programme once in the month. ? Encourage the use of E-Commerce by providing the better & fast Services. ? An effective authentication method should have c ustomer acceptance, Reliable performance, scalability to accommodate growth, and Interoperability with existing systems and future plan . With the growth in electronic banking and commerce, financial Institutions should use reliable methods of originating new customer accounts online. ? Financial institutions should rely on multiple layers of controls to prevent fraud and safeguard customer’s information. ? Recognize the needs of employees while using the ICT. ? should provide the fast & regular ICT services so that employees can deliver the fast services & customers can gat the better services. ? The daily updating & awareness of new changes in ICT must be in Practice.LIMITATIONS ?The research conducted was limited to Udaipur City only. ?Findings of the study are based on the assumption that respondents have Divulged the correct information. ?The study is confined to selected groups of employees & customers in banks of Udaipur city. ? Few respondents were so much occupied wi th their work that they could not Spare time to fill the questionnaire. ?Due to unwillingness of providing any information, the respondents Filled the questionnaire casually which might have affected the conclusion.BIBLIOGRAPHY www. google. com www. rediff. com Kothari. C. R Research methodology; methods & techniques Questionnaire – 1 FOR BANK EMPLOYEES Contact Person________________________________________________ Age______ Gender_____ Designation_______ Phone No. _____________ Official Address_______________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ Q. 1Are you a were of the changes due to information and communication Technology in banking system? Yes [ ] No [ ]Q. 2 Is your Bank using I. C. T.? Yes [ ] No [ ] Q. 3If yes, for how long I. C. T. is used in this bank? 0 – 5 [ ] 6 – 10 [ ] 11 and above [ ] Q. 4Do you think that implementation of ITC is essential and effective for Banking sector? A) Agree [ ] B) D isagree [ ] C) Strongly Agree [ ] D) Strongly disagree [ ] E) neutral Q. 5Has ICT Brought Positive changes in your working way of doing job?A) Agree [ ] B) Disagree [ ] C) Strongly Agree [ ] D) Strongly disagree [ ] E) neutral [ ] Q. 6Do you think that ICT has brought Positive changes in this bank? A) Agree [ ] B) Disagree [ ] C) Strongly Agree [ ] D) Strongly disagree [ ] E) neutral [ ] Q. 7What problem do you face while using this new system technology? A) Difficult to operate [ ] B) Difficult to Understand [ ] C) Easy [ ] Q. 8Did you get training to use the new system technology?A) Agree [ ] B) Disagree [ ] C) Strongly Agree [ ] D) Strongly disagree [ ] E) neutral [ ] Q. 9Do you think ICT has improved the performance of employees in this bank? A) Agree [ ] B) Disagree [ ] C) Strongly Agree [ ] D) Strongly disagree [ ] E) neutral [ ] Q10Do you think ICT has lead to loss of jobs in banking sector? A) Agree [ ] B) Disagree [ ] C) Strongly Agree [ ] D) Strongly disagree [ ] E) neutra l [ ]Q. 11Has ICT affected the productivity / efficiency in Banking services? A) Agree [ ] B) Disagree [ ] C) Strongly Agree [ ] D) Strongly disagree [ ] E) neutral [ ] Q. 12Is any improvement required? Yes [ ] No [ ] Questionnaire – 2 FOR CUSTOMERS Contact person_________________ Age ____________ Gender__________________ Educational Qualification: Under Graduate Graduate Post Graduate Other specify Q1. What type of Account do you operate?A) Saving [ ] B) Current [ ] C) other specify [ ] Q. 2For how long have you been using this bank? A) 0 – 5 [ ] B) 5 – 10 [ ] C) 10 – 15[ ] 15 and above Q. 3Are you aware of the changes due to information and communication Technology in banking system? A) Yes [ ] B) No [ ] Q. 4For last how many years your bank is using I. C. T.? A) 0 – 5 [ ] B) 5 and Above [ ] Q. 5Is every Department is computerized? A) Yes [ ] B) NO [ ] Q. Do you find any problem while using this new system technology? A) Difficult to operate [ ] B) Difficult to understand [ ] C) Easy [ ] Q. 7Do you find Bank staff co-operating? A) Yes [ ] B) NO [ ] SQ. 8Did you get any help services to use new system technology? A) Agree [ ] B) Disagree [ ] C) Strongly Agree [ ] D) Strongly disagree [ ] D) Neutral [ ] Q. 9 Do you think ICT has improved the service delivery of the bank ?A) Agree [ ] B) Disagree [ ] C) Strongly Agree [ ] D) Strongly disagree [ ] D) Neutral [ ] Q. 10Are you satisfied with the Banking services providing you after using I. C. T.? A) Agree [ ] B) Disagree [ ] C) Strongly Agree [ ] D) Strongly disagree [ ] D) Neutral [ ] Q. 11Do you have account in both public sectors Bank as well as in private sector Bank? A) Yes [ ] B) No [ ] Q. 12if any improvement required? A) Yes [ ] B) No [ ]

Media Influences on Social Norms and Health

Media’s Authority on Illness: Messages the Public learn In today’s culture, the media influences many aspects of daily life. For the purpose of this research the media will encompass television, newspaper, magazines, and internet and the messages learned from these outlets relating to illness. In addition, investigating how people in power authoritative the messages portrayed on the media outlets and the agenda behind the messages. The people or organizations that influence the media have a big impact on the way we learn or feel about illness.Human beings can come to accept most anything that is repeated on the news, published in magazines, and said by people of influence. People in power will include, for the purpose of this argument, those with credentials, self-help â€Å"experts†, and funding agencies for specific illnesses. The media and people in power control what the public learns about illness. Moreover, publicizing illness when there is a finical gain o r what socio-economic group suffers from the disorder or illness. According to Brumberg (2000), anorexia nervosa was a relatively unheard of disease until the 1980s.Today it is so commonplace that women will see a friend who has lost weight or looks skinny and refer to her as â€Å"looking anorexic. † If this disease was only labeled as anorexia around thirty years ago how did it explode into mainstream culture so quickly? There are a number of different arguments to pose: elite women from Ivy League universities took interest in the topic, the three most popular women’s’ magazines published many stories about the disease, and people of social status died from this disease (Brumberg 2000).Different diverse newspapers became intrigued and jumped on the anorexia bandwagon, even including pictures of gauntly women on the covers claiming outrageously high numbers of women that now have this disease (Brumberg, 2000). It is also important to note that nearly all of th e anorexia sufferers were white and came from rich families (Brumberg 2000). These girls coming from wealthy families obviously had the money to pay for treatment and doctors. It is possible that their families ran in circles with doctors, scientists, and people that have social status to make powerful decisions.These decisions generated media attention leading to the general public being flooded with movies, documentaries, and news broadcasts (Brumberg 2000). If these affected by this new disease of anorexia were poor and underprivileged arguably the public would not have learned about anorexia and it might possibly not exist today. Like anorexia, the disease of fibromyalgia did not exist as a labeled disorder until the mid seventies (Barker 1999). Remarkably now six million Americans are diagnosed a syndrome which did not exist thirty years ago.Self-help literature and the internet is one of the biggest facilitators in generating information to the public as well as funded organiz ations (Barker 1999). According to Barker (1999) fibromyalgia is characterized by many different symptoms and it can present itself differently for every case. Interesting enough during interviews Barker performed with twenty-five women only one woman had not read self-help books, but she relied on information from her support group leader to learn about her syndrome (Barker 1999).Debatably, these women may have never learned they had a syndrome, lived their lives without media messages, and possibly saving money, time, and heartache dealing with this new diagnosis. By looking at the new diseases of fibromyalgia and anorexia it is clear that the media and people of influence taught the general public about these illnesses and facilitated there widespread exposure, but how does the media choose what messages to deliver and what messages to keep away from the general public.Clearly, anorexia was a disease of wealthy, attractive girls which could make a good story, generating money for the news outlets, doctors, and pharmaceutical companies. In addition, fibromyalgia could generate the same type of financial gain for doctors and medical companies, but are these the only motivators for the media and powerful people. According to Armstrong, Carpenter, and Hojnacki (2004) who constructed a study about whose deaths matter in America with attention to the mass media and the same motivators were congruent with the results they found.Consistent with powerful people controlling messages in the media, Armstrong et. al (2004) discovered that celebrities and members of Congress become involved with different diseases promoting attention and consequently leading to these promoted diseases appearing on national media outlets. For example, when Karen Carpenter died of anorexia it brought many celebrities together to publicize anorexia teaching the public the importance of treatment for anorexia (Brumberg 2000).The media claims that the diseases they cover are those that affect the general population but ironically the people that dictate what these general population diseases are, consist of the influential people and those with credentials (Armstrong et. al 2004). During Armstrong et. al (2004) study they also discovered that the media is more likely to cover diseases that affect white people than black people, even if a disease is killing many more blacks than whites. Mass media focuses more on the color of someone’s skin and social status than the mortality rate of a certain disease or illness.This absurdity can also be seen not only with what the media covers, but with what they choose not to cover. From the 1960s to 1980s black men in Harlem had a lower rate of survival than men in Bangladesh (McCord and Freeman 1990) and this was not publicized or put on any major media outlet. If white men had a lower survival rate it would have been all over the major news headlines because of their socio-economic status and control towards the media. The unequal coverage of media attention because of issues of power, race, and money in turn condition the general public’s perception about illness.Even people that are educated and intelligent many times cannot control being manipulated by the media to go along with messages they are delivering. What’s more is if the doctors, celebrities, and powerful funding companies are not endorsing an illness, therefore the media does not cover it, the general public will not ever hear about it. Surely, if anorexia suffers would have been black women with low socio-economic status the top women’s magazines in the country would not have published stories, news broadcasts would have been non-existent, and quite possibly anorexia would only be known to few and not a mainstream disease.Diseases that affect minority groups draw far less media attention and Armstrong et. al (2004) theorizes that it stems from predominantly white broadcasters and media executives. Furthermore, specul ating that media workers would rather focus on illness that affects their particular social class and group (Armstrong et. al 2004). This theory continues to support the argument that the people in power are working through the media to control the messages the public learn about illness and disease.Organized advocates, research scientists, and politically active organizations also have a high investment in messages the media relays to the public. Advocates call great attention to their cause threw drawing on media attention and aligning themselves with politicians that support their cause in accordance with the policy goals of the politician (Armstrong et. al 2004). It is a win for all involved; the politicians get the media coverage they want for their agenda, again sending messages about illness in a political format.People in power and the media have an enormous function in controlling what messages the public learns about illness. There are many different reasons they want to c ontrol the messages humans take in through various types of media outlets. Facilitating their own social group, money, and political gain are just a few addressed in this argument. The mass media, controlled by powerful people decide what illness they want the public to learn about and often times it has more to do with race and status than how many people are actually suffering or even dying from a disease. ReferencesMcCord, C. & Freeman, H. P. (1990). â€Å"Excess Mortality in Harlem. † New England Journal of Medicine, 322:25 p. 173-177. Brumberg, J. J. (2000). â€Å"Anorexia Nervosa in Context. † Fasting Girls pp. 10-21, 33-42 264-267. Armstrong, E. , Carpenter, D. & Hojnacki, M. E. (2006). â€Å"Whose Deaths Matter? Mortality, Advocacy, and Attention to Disease in the Mass Media. † Journal of Health Politics and Law 31:4, pp. 729-772. Barker, K. (2002). â€Å"Self-Help Literature and the Making of an Illness Identity: The Case of Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) . † Social Problem 49:3, pp. 279-300.

Ethical dilemma Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Ethical dilemma - Case Study Example Some of them may have sound financial backgrounds while others may not have sound financial abilities. In the given case study, Karen Hathaway has to select one person from the list of three to a higher position. All the three persons in consideration have advantages and disadvantages which made Karen’s task extremely difficult. Carmen was an African American widow of age 34 who has one child. She was an average performer and had eight years experience in the industry, out of which four years was with the company. Her child has some medical problems and she was badly in need of more money. Ralph one among the other two competing for the higher position was a white, aged 57 and had three children. Ralph has been with the company for twenty years and in the industry for thirty. He has always been a steady performer, with mostly average ratings. He has denied promotion earlier because of his reluctance to relocate. However, he had no such problems at present and was ready to relo cate. Yingzi was the third candidate under consideration. She was an Asian, single, aged 27 and had only three years experience in the company. Even though she was the junior among the three, she had outstanding track records and management skills. It is evident from the three cases mentioned above that Yingzi had better performance record than the other two even though she was a junior in the company and had less experience than the others. Her track records show that she was ready to go up to any extent if she faces any employment discrimination. Ralph on the other hand was the most experienced person in the company and it is unethical to deny him the promotion since he is approaching his retirement. Carmen was the best friend of Karen and she was badly in need of a promotion because of her poor financial abilities and the necessity of huge money to treat her only child. In short, the problem in this case study is; what should be given more weightage while deciding promotion; perf ormance merit or ethical principles? If Carmen failed to get promotion, employees may consider it as an example of racial discrimination sine she was an African American widower. Karen may face the charges of prejudice and bias if she promotes Carmen since Carmen was one of the better friends of Karen. Ralph’s son was getting married to the vice president’s daughter which means the influence of ralph in the company is going to be increased. Yingzi on the other hand is engaged to the son of one of the upper management individual. Carmen was also supported by some of the upper managers. In short, all the three candidates had great support from different top managers in the company. Since all the three candidates have their own claims, advantages and disadvantages, it is better to analyze the cases and claims one by one. Karen has three choices; 1) consider the influence of the candidates in the organization 2) consider the merits of the candidates 3) consider the ethical claims of the candidates. The major strength of Yingzi is her performance whereas that of Ralph was his experience. Carmen on the other hand had the strength of moral support and better relations with Karen. At the same time Carmen’s better relations with Karen may become a threat to her promotion scopes if Karen decides to boost her image in the organization. All the three candidates had their influence in the organizat

The Unnecessary Cost of the War in Iraq Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Unnecessary Cost of the War in Iraq - Essay Example The Bush administration, along with the urging of then Defense Secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld, woefully underestimated the number of soldiers it would require to secure Iraq after the initial invasion. Their number of approximately 125,000 troops was far too few to occupy the country and restore order. Paul Bremer, senior civilian administrator in Iraq during the first year of the occupation says he, "complained to President Bush and other officials that far too few troops were committed to the occupation in the first year after Saddam Hussein was ousted" (Shanker, A6). Bremer even wrote a formal letter to Secretary Rumsfeld requesting two additional divisions, but Bremer contends, "he had never heard back from Mr. Rumsfeld" (Shanker, A6). The fact that the Defense Department would not even respond to the senior administrator on the ground in Iraq shows the degree of arrogance, if not incompetence, that has led our country into a quagmire of ill-advised decisions. The decisions made at the White House have resulted in the unnecessary deaths and maiming of many of our finest young men and women. The death toll stands at almost 2,800 killed and another 10,000 wounded so severely that they will never be able to return to active duty (Shanker and Cloud, A14).

Water-astronomy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Water-astronomy - Essay Example Seeing the detail on how everything works on earth has become the guiding point of inquisitive minds to understand further the mystery beyond the universe. Scientists found that the earth is just an integral component of a solar system ruled over by a star within the vast Milky Way. The Milky Way galaxy consists of millions of these stars, which means the odds of having a habitable planet, as earth is higher. However, there are still thousands of galaxies across the universe that based on supporting details from Einstein’s theory, have continue to move away from each other, leading to the point that the universe could be expanding at some point (Fang and Chu 97). Understanding these ideas about the universe could lead us to conclude that it could be so huge beyond our imagination. There are infinite possibilities out there that science continues to unearth. Scientists keep on to dig more theories and scientific proofs just to back up some essential ideas that could help them piece together the relevant information about the universe. For thousands of years, the existence in this universe remains a mystery to the humankind. While the earth is a physical proof that we could see, feel and touch, and that is integral part of the big part of the universe, scientists in most of their studies have based on their meaningful understanding by what they observed from this blue planet. This means they are trying to understand the whole part of information by starting from its very detailed component. This makes sense as a good guiding point in order to learn more about the universe. In fact, this analogy applies to our understanding about the entire water, for instance. We know about water and its importance, but most of us have a slightest idea that behind what we can see about the water is the presence of sub-atomic particles that are combined just to produce a liquid form of matter that has universal importance for the

Legal and ethical issues in the business environment Coursework

Legal and ethical issues in the business environment - Coursework Example Legal and ethical issues in the business environment The growing complexity in the business world has brought forward a serious problem that is growing at a rapid rate among numerous working individuals. The issue that is the primary focus of this paper is drug and alcohol abuse at workplace. In the light of current business scenario, use of drug and alcohol is growing steadily and can take the shape of a serious issue at workplace in the near future. Drugs and alcohol not only have negative impact on health of individuals who consume it but can prove hazardous for others present in the surrounding environment of the particular individual (Lowinson, 2005; Ghodse, 2005). Workplace problems are posed by consumption of illegal drugs as well as by misuse of legal prescription drugs and alcohol. It has been found in recent studies that legal drugs that have been prescribed by doctors can have strong impact on a person’s working capabilities such as level of concentration and alertness. Additionally, numerous individuals were also found to be heavily dependent on certain drugs for living a normal life and cannot function without the same. Consumption of alcohol and drugs socially may not have direct effect on the performance of an individual, however, if an individual attend work under the influence of these substances, it may result in adversity in terms of performance and productivity (Lowinson, 2005).

Virture according to Aristotle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Virture according to Aristotle - Essay Example These components are a person’s passion, faculty and state of character. However, amongst the 3 components, Aristotle has only identified moral virtues with the state of character. The state of character can be believed as complex inclinations or personalities to behave and feel in certain ways under certain conditions (Payne). A person’s appetite can be linked to his desire. The higher his appetite or desire, the more he would likened to be aiming for that goal or vision. This is the reversely proportional to a person with a lower appetite (Aristotle & Ross, p. 20-21). A person can be said that he is born with the potential of being morally virtuous. But for that person to be one, he should be trained on doing what is right to be truly virtuous even as an adult. Virtue is learned by constant practice and not just simply keeping it in mind. It should be shown to others rather than be kept in one’s head (Aristotle & Ross, p. 20-21). Virtue is a person’s disposition to perform the right way. In practical circumstance, there is an absence of rules. Right conduct can only be witnessed in some sort of mean in extremes which are deficiencies and excess. Between the feelings of fear and confidence, courage is the mean of the two. Aristotle stated that: â€Å"Of the people who exceed, he who exceeds in fearlessness has no name (many of the states has no name), while the man who exceeds in confidence is rash, and he who exceeds in fear and falls short in confidence is courage† (Aristotle & Ross, p. 28). Vices according to Aristotle are the bad characters of a person (IEP.Com). It can be concluded that virtues and vices are connected with the same things. They are being driven by the same factors. Virtue is the positive effects of these factors while the vice is the negative

The economy of U.S.A Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The economy of U.S.A - Essay Example It outlines the theoretical and methodological approaches that the country seeks to use in economic recovery process, asserting relative data sources and the theoretical perspective on the data’s view. The analytical approach of US economic policies The U.S.A needs to set an analytical approach to the economic issues and establish fiscal policies to stimulate growth, control amount of money in supply, dictate inflationary rates and of the dollar, and subsequently reduce the unemployment levels. The government should be certain of the factors that would help it achieve economic stability to the desired level. The United States should be observant on the whether the factors will positively or negatively affect the country at the long run (Gwartney and James, 250). The U.S.A engages in diverse economic prospectus criteria, ranging from macro to micro variables of forecasting for economic propulsion. The United States observes on the psychological impacts that a given policy would reflect from the economy. Therefore, the economy practices scientific theoretical approaches on the immediate factors of production, for example, the demand and supply variables, interests, and capital basis of the economy and labor. Theoretical and methodological approaches to the US economy The Keynesian theory as an approach to the economy of the United States would propel economic growth if well practiced. The theory stipulates that, during the short run period, productivity of the economy shape up in accordance to change in demand. The theory declares that the supply may not increase during an increase in the level of demand but may instead remain constant thus leading to an increase in prices, which consequently results to high costs of living, demand for salary increments, increased unemployment, and subsequent increase in inflation (Barfield and Claude, 314). The United States could adapt to the theoretical approach, which further inhibits the express authority of capitalists. America practices a free market enterprise whereby the investors make decisions on prices depending on the changes in market variables. The United States of America suffered economic crisis between the year 2007-2009 and eventually resulted to poor exchange value of the dollar against other currencies in the world (Majmundar and Malay, 43). America suffered intensely during the crisis due to the increased rate of unemployment, which implied negatively on the gross domestic product (GDP) because of the reduction of per capita income. America could view this aspect of fall back from another perspective, mainly by imposing controls on pricing whenever the demand of products increases with constant maintenance in supply. America’s approach of forecasting the futu re through leading economic indicators could also help the country realize economic prowess again. The index criterion is a methodological approach that eyes on the bank lending rates and the possible changes in the economy. The Keynesian approach emphasizes that federal bank should restrict on the amount of money in supply (a monetary policy) to ensure that the country does not suffer from inflation. The country should focus on the theoretical approach since, reduction of the amount of money in supply would press the economy to operate on the available balance of payment, and the country’

Competitive Intelligence Essay Example for Free

Competitive Intelligence Essay Introduction Competitive intelligence (CI) refers to a tool used for marketing used by business organizations to study the competing surrounding. The process incorporates a determined information gathering based on the operations and other factors considering the competitor that enables proper decision-making of the organization management. Gower. Moloi and Iyamu, (2013) indicates that CI is significant in making marketing-related decisions and the development of market–oriented companies. Different companies use different methods to gather competitive intelligence. Companies study an array of industry specific and general publications to provide information of the current competitive intelligence. However, the most mentioned source of industry information are monographs. Monographs refer to the grey literature that may not be disseminated through conventional publishing channels. These include academic theses, business schools, technical reports, scholarly papers, case studies, and private and public sector documents. Sometimes the monographs are published that provides the most cost-effective and comprehensive source of CI information. Industry monographs are instrumental in providing information of the industry secular progress and historical background. Profits analysis can be obtained through long-term perspective that is compost of a richer experience variety as opposed to when only recent developments are considered. However, the major downfall is that the company conference proceedings and monographs date speedily. Internet searches, and the British Library form the major sources of grey literature. According to Murphy (2005,) the press reports and features provide the source of current and retrospective understanding of the competitor. The journals such as Financial Times sectoral surveys enable a company to obtain an excellent overview of the competitor of various business lines. Likewise, it outlines the individual players’ profile and the most pressing current issues affecting the competitor. Numerous trade journals provide annual surveys of the major trends and events in their specific business line. Furthermore, Murphy (2005) writes that the regulatory authorities also provide a great quality of information may be availed at a modest cost. The studies and reports provided by the Competition Commission have plenty of significant data and analysis that provides an excellent model on the procedures of undertaking the studies of the competing industry. The public watchdogs charged with the roles of overseeing the public sector forms excellent targets of CI information. Company circulars that they have to send to their shareholders under specific conditions are also significant sources of CI. For example, material acquisition and classified information on the listing rules provides information on the size of the company. Circulars contain FSA that may require the researcher to visit the company headquarters to obtain the corporate documents. Furthermore, Murphy (2005) indicates that shareholder data that has special rules that apply to the reporting of the changes within the entire PLCs. The Companies’ Act provides that PLCs are always documented in the company annual reports. This information provides the holdings of 3 percent of the total voting share capital of the firm. The information provided in such notifications that are subjected to public scrutiny provides CI information. Murphy further writes that company patents provide mechanisms of obtaining competitive advantage and the trademarks that provides the insights that describe the company enrichments. However, some companies believe that human resource intelligence. Company investigators may use direct contact with company human resource intelligence through identifying the subjects and planning of interviews. Human resource provides updated information on the company; however, it may be difficult to secure the potential individual to approach for such CI information. A typical example of CI mentions the stock traders who analyze the data based on the price movements and prices to determine the best investments. They possess similar data to other traders, yet data analysis provides their difference with others. Moreover, Japanese automobile industry that analysed the U.S automobiles of in the 1970s based on the products and the demands of the customer (Wagner Van 2011). The smaller families and high gasoline prices created a demand in the U.S for fuel efficient and smaller cars. Therefore, the Japanese automobiles applied CI methods to establish a trend and further made the decisions on manufacturing based on the results of CI information. The produced cars defeated the U.S Big Three in the market due to fuel-efficiency and high-quality cars. Despite the entire pool of information sources, the internet and human resource intelligence may be the most effective sources of information in terms of accuracy, ethics and cost-effectiveness. The company websites provide an array of information that can be easily assessed compared to published documents. The website provides comprehensive information on the new developments, business practices, and detailed information on strategies and tactics established by the company. Likewise, as Wagner and Van (2011) establishes, the internet can provide detailed information based on the vision, CEO statements, goals and objectives, and the overall management of the firm. The commitment of the firm to quality, consumer problems, investments and plants, structure are also provided in the web pages of the company. Likewise, human resource can be maintained for a long period once the first interview is secured. Although it is a subject of ethics, human resource intelligence will provide the most updated information on the company plans. References Gower. Moloi, R., Iyamu, T. (April 01, 2013). Understanding the Deployment of Competitive Intelligence Through Moments of Translation. International Journal of Information Technology and Web Engineering (ijitwe), 8, 2, 33-45. Murphy, C. (2005). Competitive intelligence: Gathering, analysing and putting it to work. Aldershot, England: Wagner, L., Van, B. J.-P. (January 01, 2011). Web Mining for Strategic Competitive Intelligence.

The Rights of Animals Essay Example for Free

The Rights of Animals Essay When we say that all human beings, referring to both men and women, whatever their race or sex may be are created equal, what is it that we are actually proclaiming? Peter Singer, writer of â€Å"All Animals are Equal† aims to advocate to us as readers to make the mental switch in respect to our attitudes toward a species other than our own. And by this I am referring to animals. R.G Frey takes on a very different position that he expresses in â€Å"Moral Standing, the Value of Lives, and Specieism. † Although there is nothing in his work that has ever suggested that animals don’t count, he disagrees with Singer, in a way, because he does not believe that animals possess moral standing. But first, I would like to discuss Singer’s essay merely due to the fact that there may be a case for a new liberation movement. Singer â€Å"urges that we extend to other species the basic principle of equality that most of us recognize should be extended to all members of our own species (pg. 171).† Many may note or make the connection that the idea of â€Å"the rights of animals† is somewhat of a parody to the case for women’s rights. But some may argue that the case for equality between men and women cannot validly be extended to non-human animals because, for an example, and realistically speaking, women now have the right to vote because they are just as capable of making that decision like men are, whereas animals on the other hand are incapable of understanding the significance of voting so they cannot have that right. Which then brings me back to, what exactly are we declaring when we say all human beings are equal? Because as we know it, we must face the fact that humans come in different shapes and sizes. We each have different moral capacities, different intellectual abilities, different amounts of feeling and sensitivity to others, different abilities to communicate, and different capacities to experience pleasure and pain- all of which are examples Singer discusses. And as a result, if the demand for equality were merely based on the actual equality of human beings, we would have to stop demanding it. â€Å"It would be an unjustifiable demand. (pg. 173)† states Singer. It is unjustifiable to discriminate on the basis of age, sex, or gender because neither of those are a guide to a person’s ability. Singer proposes another important reason as to why we ought not to base our opposition on any kind of factual equality because, â€Å"we can have no guarantee that these abilities an d capacities really are distributed evenly, without regard to race or sex, among human beings (pg. 173).† The most important thing we must consider is that equality is a moral ideal, not a simple assertion of fact. â€Å"The principle of the equality of human beings is not a description of an alleged actual equality among humans: it is a prescription of how we should treat animals (pg. 174).† I strongly agree with Singer here; animals have the capacity to experience pain and suffering just as humans do. Therefore the interests of every being that is being affected by an action should be taken into account and given the same weight as the interests of any other beings, such as animals. At this point, Singer expresses animal testing as what should be a major concern in our society. Singer states that it is simple discrimination. He uses an orphaned human infant for comparison, by suggesting that if the experimenter is not prepared to use this human over his readiness to use a nonhuman being, it is simply a form of discrimination. As far as we can tell, an animal is just as sensitive to pain and any human infant. â€Å"Experimenting on animals, and eating their flesh, are perhaps the two major forms of specieism in our society (pg. 176).† Animals have emotions and desires that allow them to live a good life whether we think so or not. And to that respect, the distinction between humans and animals will be a continuum in which we will move gradually. Frey, on the other hand, has a very different standing on this issue compared to Singer. Frey focuses his essay on the comparative value of human and animal life, taking the notion of autonomy to be central to this issue since autonomy is the source of a huge part of the value of one’s life. ‘Thus, I [Singer] am a restricted vivisectionist, not because I think animals are outside the moral community but because of views I hold about the value of their lives (pg. 193).† The three propositions Frey mentions in his essay are that animal life has some value, not all animal life has the same value, and lastly, human life is more valuable than animal life. Frey calls this claim of the comparative value between human and animal life the unequal value thesis. The unequal value thesis expresses why the value of humans is of more importance than the value of animals. What is missing is the potentiality for enrichment, because lives of less richness have less value. Autonomy plays a vast part of the human case, because by exercising our autonomy one can mold their life to fit the conception our society portrays of what is perceived to be living â€Å"the good life.† â€Å"Thus, by exercising our autonomy and trying to live out some conception of how we want to live, we make possible further, important dimensions of value to our lives (pg. 196).† Although Frey does mention that not all members of the moral community have lives of equal value. In fact, some human lives fall drastically below the quality of normal human life, which would conclude that in some cases a perfectly healthy animal can have a higher quality of life than that of some human, such as ones with mental disabilities for example. But Frey addresses to his readers that the way in which we defend this thesis is a vitally important affair. To discuss the issue of using animals in scientific research as Singer did, he remains a vivisectionist because of the benefits medical and scientific research can present. And it is the unequal value thesis that justifies the use of animals in medical and scientific research. Frey believes that the unequal value thesis is in fact defensible. In conclusion, Frey stresses again that the argument of his essay is not to present animals of having no value, but rather about whether they have lives of equal value to normal human life. Overall, both writers express that animals for in fact have some value to their lives, whether we believe it to be of equal value to humans or of less value is based purely on our moral principles. Works Cited: Lafollette, Hugh, ed. Ethics in Practice. Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2007. Print Frey, R.G. â€Å"Moral Standing, the Value of Lives, and Speciesism.† Lafollette 192-204. Singer, Peter. â€Å"All Animals Are Equal.† Lafollette 171-180.

Non Verbal Communication: Bangladesh And Panama

Non Verbal Communication: Bangladesh And Panama This study was conducted to gain a better understanding of students in Second/Foreign language classrooms in Bangladesh and Panama, and their consciousness about Teacher-Student Interaction through Non-Verbal Communication in Bangladesh and Panama and focusing on the importance and the role in building student motivation in Second/Foreign language classrooms. Since English is a second language in Bangladesh and Panama, the result will suggest how important it is for teachers to be aware of their nonverbal communication in classrooms to interact with the students in triggering their motivation. Chapter I INTRODUCTION English is a global language and is recognized the key means of international communication. Crystal (1997) and Nunan (2003) suggest that as a general consensus, English has become an international language, one that is widely used in higher education, business, technology, science and the internet. In Bangladesh and Panama, English is a second language for the majority of people, and therefore it is important to consider both the teaching and learning of English in both nations; hence the conduct of this study. In Panama, Spanish is the official language, spoken by over 90% of Panamanians, but English is recognized as the official second language. Bengali is spoken by majority of the people in Bangladesh and English is the official second language. Since I had access to both countries during the writing of this Thesis, it was possible to conduct a comparative study of the teaching and learning of English in both, despite the many cultural and linguistic differences, not to mention the vast geographic distance between the two. It is hoped that the findings of this study will contribute to illustrate the importance of nonverbal communication in the teaching of English as a second language despite the differences between the peoples of the two nations. Rather than the differences, it is in fact the similarities that we share as humans which enable more effective means of teaching and learning a foreign language. In many countries around the world, the Communicative Language Teaching (CTL) method has taken prominence for the pedagogy of learners of English as a second language. In Bangladesh, CTL has been emphasized since 1998 (Billah 2012), and since then, the teaching of English has continued to follow this method to the extent possible. CTL emphasizes the importance of interaction as the means and the ultimate goal of teaching a foreign language; this is in stark contrast to the more bookish methods of the past where printed literature and non-interactive classroom instruction were exclusively utilized to teach English. With the emphasis now given to CTL as an efficient means of language teaching, a more interactive approach to the teaching of English as a second language has taken center stage globally. In second language classrooms, the teacher plays an important role in the achievement of successful learning. One of the most important features of a language classroom is that the lesson is an arena of human interaction with different personalities, motives, and expectations at play. The learning atmosphere, emotional climate, group cohesion, and enjoyment of being in the group are fundamental issues for motivation. In order to achieve an interactive atmosphere, we need an ambiance and relations among individuals that promotes a desire for interaction (Rivers 1987). Further, Rivers (1987) notes that [Interaction is] an affective, temperamental matter, not merely a question of someone saying something to someone, stressing the importance of converting the classroom into real-life contexts where the class experience mimics reality. Communication can be defined as the sharing of ones thoughts and emotions with others, either verbally or nonverbally. Verbal communication includes spoken words and sounds, and the volume and tone used to express them. In contrast, nonverbal communication is unspoken, and includes facial expressions, body movements, gestures, observance of personal space, and eye contact (Wiki). In an era of communicative language teaching, interaction is, in fact, at the heart of communication; it is what communication is all about (Brown, H.D. 1994). The question is how should one interact in the classroom as a teacher? What forms or means of interaction should one use to keep students motivated to continue the learning process? Verbal communications are obviously utilized, with words carefully chosen by teachers so that students can better understand English. But non-verbal communication is equally important and in classrooms we tend to ignore this factor. Non-verbal communications play an important role in interaction between a teacher and a student. In the classroom, a teacher and student, both consciously and subconsciously send and receive nonverbal cues several hundred times a day (Billah). Teachers should be aware of nonverbal communication in the classroom for two basic reasons: 1) to become better receivers of students messages and, 2) to gain the ability to send positive signals that reinforce students learning. In the process, teachers simultaneously become more skilled at avoiding negative signals that stifle a students learning. This study investigates and compares the consciousness of students of two countries, on two different continents, to a teachers interaction through nonverbal communication during the learning of English as a second language. The goal is to highlight the importance of nonverbal communication and the critical role it plays to motivate students as they pursue the learning of a second language, in this case, English. Research Questions and Methods The main basis of this study started with class observation. After assessment of the observations made, an appropriate questionnaire was designed to verify my implication on the topic ending with teachers view on my topic. The aim of this study is to find out how conscious students are about teachers interaction through nonverbal communication in second language classrooms at universities in Dhaka, Bangladesh versus Panama City, Panama, to identify the teachers most frequently used nonverbal behaviors, and to find out its role in motivating students. The paper will also investigate teachers views on nonverbal communication in the classroom. The main questions of focus were as follows: Are teachers in Bangladesh and Panama aware of their nonverbal behavior through interaction in their classrooms? Are students in Bangladesh and Panama aware of the types of nonverbal communication they receive from their teachers in classrooms? If yes, what type of nonverbal behaviors they like to see in their teachers? What are the most used ones? How significant is the role of teachers-student interaction through nonverbal communication? This will determine whether both teachers and students think that nonverbal communication affects interaction. If so, how does nonverbal communication affect student motivation? The opinion of students was assessed through Questionnaire. Is nonverbal communication playing a significant role in our classrooms as it is claimed internationally? This will determine whether teachers from both countries, Bangladesh and Panama, can identify the importance of nonverbal communication as well as the types of nonverbal behaviors they present in classrooms. It will also verify how the students react to certain types of nonverbal communication. How conscious should teachers be in their nonverbal behavior in Second/Foreign classroom? This will focus more on how teachers think of their personal performance in the classroom through nonverbal communication, how appropriate is the teacher in using body language, gesture, expressions etc., and how much students are affected by a teachers performance in the classroom. In what ways is Bangladesh and Panama similar and/or different in usage of nonverbal communication in classrooms? How does nonverbal communication express cultural values? What suggestions can be provided for Academia? Chapter II LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter will deal with the definition and major components of nonverbal communication. It will also discuss the importance of teacher-student interaction through nonverbal communication which ultimately triggers the motivation to learn. (2.1) Nonverbal Communication Educators, psychologists, anthropologists and sociologists define body language or nonverbal communication as communication without words. It includes overt behaviors such as facial expressions, eye contact, touching and tone of voice. It can also be less obvious, however, as through dress, posture and spatial distance. The most effective communication occurs when verbal and nonverbal messages are in sync, creating communication synergy (Wiki). A teacher can bring in positive reinforcement through the usage of body language in second language classrooms. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Mae West both understand the importance of body language. The tell tale body is all tongues, Emerson once said, while West famously quoted, I speak two languages, body and English. It is just as important for teachers to be good nonverbal communication senders as it is for them to be good receivers (students). Teachers express enthusiasm, warmth, assertiveness, confidence and displeasure through facial express ions, vocal intonation, gestures and use of space etc. However, when teachers exhibit verbal messages that conflict with nonverbal messages, students become confused, which in turn can affect their interaction; hence, motivation. How does a teacher keep students motivated to learn a second language? In an ideal classroom, students pay attention, ask questions and want to learn. They do their assignments without complaint and study without being forced to do so. However, oftentimes this is not the reality. A teacher constantly has to work to motivate or keep students triggered to do their work. One such factor is non-verbal communication, which plays a role in triggering motivation so that students are not forced but rather feel like they want to learn. For instance, Morgan (1997) achieved a high level of motivation in the teaching of intonation by bringing in the learners social and cultural attitudes. The main types of nonverbal communication used by a teacher to interact in classrooms in foreign language are the Kinesics (the study of body language), the Vocalics (the study of the use of tone, pitch and volume of the voice), the Chronemics (the study of the use of time), the Oculesics (the study of the use of eyes), the Proxemics (the study of the use of spatial distance), and the Haptics (the study of the use of touch). YOU NEED TO CITE THE LITERARTURE WHERE YOU GOT THIS INFORMATIONIT IS NOT YOUR ORIGINAL WORK The focus will be on the first five categories of nonverbal communication and lastly discussion on use of Haptics will be mentioned separately. Emphasis on teachers nonverbal responses needs to reinforce in classroom processes for three specific areas. First, nonverbal communication can be used to reinforce cognitive learning. Second, nonverbal communication reinforces emotional connections between the student and the teacher. Finally, nonverbal communication sets an organizational tone for the classroom-i.e. with respect to the management of the classroom. The use of non-verbal communication in the management of the classroom has implications for how conflict can be managed. The focus of this paper will be solely on the observation and surveys of students. It will focus on the types of nonverbal communication that can be used to motivate students in second/foreign language classrooms in Bangladesh and Panama. My research will concentrate on the use of body language, gestures, use of tone and pitch, use of eye-contact, and use of spatial distance. These are the factors that I observed in both the countries and believe will support my hypothesis. (2.2) Significance of Nonverbal Communication The classroom is a setting where a great deal of nonverbal communication (ex: through behavior) takes place (Galloway, 1979; Smith, 1979; Thompson, 1973; Woolfolk Brooks, 1985). Acceptance and understanding of ideas and feelings by teacher and student, encouraging and criticizing, silence and questioning are all manifested through communication of nonverbal behaviors. What does classroom teaching have to do with communication in general and nonverbal communication in particular? Most educators would probably have an immediate response to only the first part of the question. From his anthropological perspective, Montagu (1967) stated that the main purpose of education is to teach the art of communication since the child learns to become human through communication. Most of us would agree that the nonverbal is an essential part of their communicative act. Victoria (1970) commented further: The process of education essentially is a communication process, not only in that sense of trans mitting knowledge, but more particularly as it relates to interpersonal communication behaviors. Accordingly, the teaching process may be described as an interactive flow of information or communications which results consecutively in the processing of the information, decision-making, and learning which may be cognitive, affective, or psychomotor in nature. Because of the central role played by communication in educational practice, several writers have suggested that communication skills be taught to students or teachers and that nonverbal training be an essential part of this instruction (e.g., Gray, 1973; Hennings, 1975; Rezmierski, 1974). Similarly, Victoria (1971) proposed that teachers should study qualitative aspects of the affective domain so as to better understand students. The latter suggestion seems most appropriate in view of Davitzs (1964) pioneering work which demonstrated that emotional meanings could be communicated accurately in a variety of nonverbal media and th at nonverbal emotional communication is a stable, measurable phenomenon. AGAIN, I DONT THIS SECTION IS YOUR ORIGINAL WORK à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ CITE YOUR SOURCES à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ THE FLOW OF THE WRITING DOES NOT SEEM IT IS YOUR OWN. The need to make teachers explicitly aware of nonverbal facets of communication has been stressed by a number of researchers (e.g, Galloway, Koch, Montag; Ostler Kranz). In part, these declarations seem to be reactions against the usual emphasis on verbal classroom processes and the almost total neglect of ever-present nonverbal behaviors. It has been reported often that teachers talk too much and that classroom teaching conforms to the rule of two-thirds (i.e., someone is talking for two-thirds of the total class time and two-thirds of that talking is done by the teacher). However, whether teachers are talking or not, they are always communicating. Their movements, gestures, tones of voice, dress and other artifacts, and even their ages and physiques are continuously communicating something to the students. In like manner, students are continuously communicating with their teachers, a point too often missed by teachers relying solely on the verbal message for informational purposes . Hopkins (1974) found that teachers with a more positive view of humanity used nonverbal communicative acts which encouraged student involvement in classroom interaction, while teachers with a negative view of humanity tended to use nonverbal communicative acts which discouraged student involvement. In summary, the significant role played by nonverbal communication in classroom processes has been emphasized. The argument has been made that interaction (communication) underlies teaching, that the nonverbal domain is an essential part of communication, and that many teachers display too little awareness of nonverbal behavior in their teaching practice. (2.3) Importance of Teacher-Student Interaction In order to succeed, the teacher has to adopt a more interactive approach in the classroom. For instance, according to Prodromou (1991), a good teacher, among other qualities, is someone who is friendly, one of the students, and genuine in dialogues. She/he tries to communicate, believes in students, makes students believe in themselves, asks for student opinions, does the lesson together, and talks about his/her life. One such factor is the level of course interaction. Laurillard, a theorist (1997) suggested that student-teacher interaction is a key component in academic learning. The study of nonverbal communication indicates that the teacher brings more to the classroom than knowledge of subject matter and verbal fluency. Birdwhistell has tried to codify the language of body expression. In his famous work on body language he stated, There is a language of body expression and motion which is as ordered and structured as the language we speak. Like the language we speak it is made up in pieces of structure which can be assembled to form orderly sequences of message material which others trained in the same code can translate and respond to in kind. Like Birdwhistell, almost all eminent linguists believe that the success of both the student and the teacher depend upon the effective communication between them in the class. That is through interaction. Stevick (1982) points out that the body language of the teacher is the most important thing in the class. Addressing the teacher community he wrote, it is the way you use your eyes, the distance you stand from your students, the way you touch or refrain from touching them-all of these unnoticeable things in the class carry important signals which create a profound effect on your students feelings of welcome and comfort with you. Balzer, in his research on classroom communication, reported that approximately 75% of classroom management behavior was nonverbal. Similarly, Smith noted that teachers nonverbal behaviors are for students the signs of the psychological state of the teacher and so should not be taken lightly. Galloway (1980) believed that the use of paralanguage in the classroom encourages the speakers and consequently the people in the classroom will show increased desire to transmit a message and will thereby hold the listeners attention better. (2.4) Teacher-Student Interaction through Nonverbal Communication to Trigger Motivation The study of the nonverbal communication of the teacher is to be more important (in the classroom) due to three reasons according to Kristin Hammond. First, the teacher acts as an artist whose performance in the classroom is usually observed minutely by his/her audience (the students). If his/her body language is positive the students enjoy the lecture and consequently retain and remember most part of it. On the other hand, if the body language of the teacher is negative the students do not enjoy the classroom experience and feel discomfort uneasiness and lose most of the lecture taught. Secondly, the function of nonverbal communication is to supplement the verbal messages (of the speaker) by repetition, substitution, complementation and regulation. If the nonverbal signals of the resource person (the Teacher) are appropriate the student gets maximum benefit from the lecture but if the nonverbal cues are contradictory the students usually get confused and in some situations are comp letely lost. Thirdly, a teacher is a role model (of the target language) for many students and they try to copy his/her body language, as there is no native speaker model available in many Bangladesh and Panama universities. It is motivation that produces effective second language communicators by planting in them the seeds of self-confidence. Therefore, the nonverbal communication of the teacher in these universities is more important for motivating the second language learners. Chapter III COUNTRY AND CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES (3.1) Bangladesh Perspective In Bangladesh, the importance of English language is growing day by day. Students who spend four years in university need to learn English to enhance their career for the future. With the growing population, English is becoming more demanding than ever. We can see, in businesses, hospitals, buying house, corporate world and in education, English is needed. We see many institutions where classes are provided for those who are working to enhance their English; coaching center to learn English is growing by the number and we see training seminars for teachers to become better in their teaching. The growing number of private universities is making it necessary to learn English. But, the question remains, How do we motivate students to learn English? What elements enhance students performance? By keeping these questions in mind, teachers nonverbal communication during interaction with students plays an important role in second/foreign language classrooms. The lack of nonverbal communication is making interaction between teacher and student difficult. Students tend to take the classes lightly and later in the long run have to take more classes for their careers to learn English properly; hence their communication lacks the necessary expression or voice in them. (3.2) Panama Perspective Panama is a country where 95% of the population speaks Spanish. Like Bangladesh, English is a second language here as well. The university has extended English classes for the students where most of the teachers are natives. In Panama, teachers reflect on verbal communication more than nonverbal as well. But students are affected by the paralanguage in the classroom, hence resulting in lack of interest in the classes which affects them later on. As a teacher, the need of the understanding and usage of nonverbal is vital in keeping students motivated in the classroom because majority of the students in Panama come from a Spanish background. Their language has very few words which are interchanged with English words. In contrast, in Bangladesh, English words in Bangladesh, words like card, office, school, class, and many more are used by almost 98% of the population. So English words are perhaps more foreign to native Spanish speakers than they may be to native Bengali speakers. The need to understand students perception of teachers nonverbal communication in classroom in this instance is even more paramount. Chapter IV DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS (4.1) Universities in Bangladesh Class Observation: Two classes were observed before conveying the survey to the students. Based on my observations, I decided to concentrate on the nonverbal communication used by teachers. The major goal of this survey is to determine how conscious students are about the interaction between teacher and student through nonverbal communication in the classroom. The Survey: The questionnaire composed of two parts where both parts involve about nonverbal communication of the teachers but there were two main differences. First, in the first option there were four choices; (a) Totally Agree, (b) True up to some extent, (c) Totally Disagree and (d) I dont know. The students have to select one of them and this way we will understand how conscious students are about their teachers nonverbal interaction. Secondly, the first portion generally asked about the liking of the students which was directly linked to students motivation and involvement in the class. In the second part of the questionnaire the queries were directly related to the retention of the lectures with the nonverbal communication of their teachers. The second survey provides only two options of Yes and No and in this way the assessment will be definite. Later, both of them were combined to provide a coherent result of the findings. The results are as follows: Bangladesh Participants: The questionnaires were distributed among American International University students and Stamford University students, 15 students from each university participated in filling out the questionnaires. The entire 30 participants native language is Bengali and it consisted of 19 males and 11 females. The response of students to a teachers use of body language and gestures is summarized in Table 1. The above data shows that students at universities in Bangladesh are aware of nonverbal communication in their classrooms. The assessment clearly shows that 18 out of 30 students at the two universities, which results in an average of 60% of the students, feel strongly motivated when teachers nod their head in class. The remaining 12 students, or 40%, responded that it was true to some extent that the teachers head nodding results in motivation. This data is represented in Figure 1. 21 out of 30 students agreed that teachers who smile at their students in the classroom encourage them to be confident in their class, averaging at 70%, while the remaining 9 student, or 30%, answered that this was true to a some extent. Figure 2 summarizes this finding. A teachers happy mood creates a good atmosphere in second language classroom with a high percentage from both the universities, where 27 out of 30 students answered Totally Agree in the survey, averaging at 90%, while the remaining 10% answered true to some extent. This proves the point that amongst students at universities in Bangladesh, non-motivation results when a teacher does not enter the classroom with a good mood. See Figure 3 for a graphical representation of this data. Finally, a teachers raised finger embarrasses students in Bangladesh, where 23 out of 30 students, averaging at 78% conveyed that their level of confidence goes down when teachers raise their finger while asking them a question, Figure 4. The students response to the use of various supra segmental features of language such as pitch, tone, rhythm and volume by the teacher is summarized in Table 2. In both universities in Bangladesh, 27 out of 30 students with an average of 90% survey result shows that monotonous tone creates boredom in classroom and 3 students answered true to some extent with an average of 10%, Figure 5. 20 out of 30 students with an average of 66% totally agreed to the question that variation is tone, pitch and volume is liked, while 10 students, or 34%, answered true to some extent, Figure 6. The students response about the use of time by their teachers is shown in Figure 7. The result of this question shows that, 23 out of 30 students averaging at 77% of the students in Bangladesh in University take teachers casually if they are not regular in their classroom. As teachers for second language learner, one must remember that English is a second language for the students and if the teachers are not motivated to be regular in their classes students will not be either. Second, 14 out of 30 students with an average of 47% answered that they look at their wrist watches if a teacher takes over-time in the classroom. The students response about the use of eye contact of their teachers is shown in Figure 8. The above result shows that, 25 out of 30 students with an average of 83% of the students feel encouraged when teachers use eye-contact. Visual contact with the instructor appears related to students comprehension. Furthermore, visual contact with the instructor increases attentiveness, which in turn triggers motivation. Second, 18 out of 30 students said that cold stares embarrass students with an average of 60%. The students response about the movement of their teachers in a classroom is shown in Figure 9. The result shows that 23 students totally agreed upon with an average of 78% that the students in Bangladesh feel teachers movement in the classroom keep them alert, which shows that students are affected by teachers use of space. Whereas, around 21 out of 30 students agreed with an average of 70% that teacher standing still creates laziness in students. Data Analysis: The above findings clearly state that our students in second language classrooms are conscious about teachers nonverbal communication used to interact, which triggers motivation. Smiling and nodding head in a classroom plays a vital role in universities in Bangladesh when interacting with students because the most dominant and reliable features of the face provide a constant channel of communication. They received high percentage of 60% and 90%. That is why when teachers interact there face provides shifty and evasive; convey hate, fear, and guilt; or express confidence, and support. 90% of the student agreed that by using a dull tone in the classrooms, students think that the teacher is tired or boring. But as teachers of second language, one must remember that we are providing a class time of 75 minutes and within that time frame a teacher must provide an interactive speech where students will be encouraged to convey their views and ideas about the topic. Eye behavior seems to be particular importance which resulted in 83% and it is used to indicate whether one is open to communication. This can be observed when a teacher asks the class a question: students who think they know the answer will generally look at the teacher, while students who do not will usually try to avoid eye contact and in these cases cold stares must be avoided. Eye contact give provides a feeling of confidence and assurance from teacher. Therefore, plays an important role in second language classrooms. In Bangladesh, sometimes classrooms are small. If the teacher wishes to dominate the interaction in the classroom, the traditional arrangement is probably the best because students are seated side by side and the primary focal point is the teacher; thus, most interaction will go from teacher to student and from student to teacher. But in some cases, it is important to move around in the classroom to keep the attention of the students when teacher convey a message. 78% of the students feel that when a teacher moves in the classroom they feel motivated to listen. Lastly, a regular teacher is seen as a teacher who is passionate (about the course), prepared and is there for the students. 77% of the students agreed upon this factor. On the other hand, students start taking classes casually if the teacher is irregular and hence demotivation factor arises in second language classrooms. Teachers view on Nonverbal Communication being used as a motivation in Bangladesh: Two teachers from American International University and Stamford University participated in the interview questions. Theory of Normalisation of Drugs | Literature Review Theory of Normalisation of Drugs | Literature Review Who Hasnt Tried At Least one? An investigation into normalised recreational drug use in the South West and whether legal controls act as an effective deterrence to illegal drug consumption. Literature review When considering the concepts of normalisation and recreational drug use, it is crucial to first establish what is here meant by these terms in actuality. Often the two phenomena are met with difficulties [i](Parker, Aldridge and Measham 1998), difficulties which form in conflicting theories, what they are defined as and in which social environments they can be correctly used. The following review will be focusing on how historically, the concepts of normalisation and recreational drug use have been adopted into society and to what extent they correlate with one another. Does normalisation simply mean normal? The first development of the term normalisation was uncovered in Denmark throughout the 1950s, in order to create a normal living standard for individuals with forms of disabilities, disadvantages and those who were generally considered to lead a life in poor living conditions [ii](Emerson, 1992). The concept came in form as the piece of Danish legislation introduced by Niels Erik Bank-Mikkelsen called the [iii]1959 Mental Retardation Act, its political aims were to fundamentally change perspectives towards those with intellectual difficulties, hopefully resulting in the group becoming normalised and attaining the same community based rights as those without disabilities, such as work, clothing, housing and education. Since the concept was first pioneered in the 1950s, the term, after being translated into English by Dr. Bengt Nirje, has been widely adopted and revisited in many diverse fields of service, academia and literature but mostly referred to as a principle and theory [iv](N irje 1969; [v]Wolfensberger, 1972). Characteristically, normalisation refers to specific a group of individuals social behaviours (particularly deviants), and those behaviours becoming a part of the wider societys social norms, which become as close to day to day conventional life as is possible, ranging from lifes rhythms and routines to economic and environmental standards (Nirje 1969; Parker,[vi] Williams, Aldridge 2002). After making an impact of American professionals, Dr. Wolfensberger introduced the practice of normalisation into the United States in 1970. Wolfenberger made the concept of normalisation into a social relation by pointing out its obvious connections with other social concepts such as the labelling theory, but he also recognised that in fact the differences within disabled groups were still present despite the strive for social equality, this was later accepted by Emerson who pointed out that the concepts were transferable to any devalued social group or those a t risk of being a devalued social group [vii](Emerson and McGill, 1989). This then, as previously mentioned, allowed for other social sciences to adapt and investigate the theory in their specialised fields, where here specifically is relevant, Criminology and drugs. Drug use: The differences between recreation and addiction. Throughout the post-war decades there have been numerous drug epidemics, such as the speeding mods in the sixties to tripping hippies during the seventies through to a new wave of heroin users in the 1980s (Parker, Aldridge and Measham, 1998). Whilst all were thought of as a form of ephemeral drug taking, they were also known as behaviours found in the minority groups of the populations, and almost always referred to as deviant. But, a social change of massive proportions emerged throughout the nineties that was unparalleled to the previous decades. The nineties saw an unprecedented surge in drug taking amongst more than just the minority groups, much more. In fact, the dramatic rise in drug trying was among those considered ordinary and conventional. ([viii]Aldridge, Parker and Measham, 1999; [ix]Ashton and Camali, 1995). A significant dominance in the development of the theory known as the normalisation thesis is that of Howard Parker and Colleagues (1995). They suggest that the previous links between illicit drugs use and deviant behaviour no longer exist with regards to crime. They argue that it has instead become a part of the core youth culture in the United Kingdom, which has essentially stemmed from our freedom of choices and consumerism/consumption habits. This evokes the idea that drug use is no longer problematic, but recreational. The central argument here is that globalisation has created issues for a post-modernistic Britain in the form of an increased tolerance for drug use, which has been influenced by consumption. This meaning a basic phenomenon here of supply and demand, but of an illegal nature, the demand for drugs theoretically being higher due to perhaps more disposable income, contributed by the ease of accessibility and sale. Thus, the freedom of recreational drug consumption is inevitably begun. This specific literature is one that spurred and encouraged the idea for the research in this dissertation. Much like the thesis here, the research in this document adopts the same rationales or assumptions but with a specific focus on people between the ages of 18-45 whom reside in the South West. In Parker, Williams and Aldridge (2002) they measure sensible recreational drug use by adopting the normalisation theory. The research only includes specific drugs which are considered recreational. The research defines sensible drug use here by expressing that using sensibly does not include using drugs on a regular daily basis, as this can qualify, by definition, as addiction (Parker et al., 1998). They also specify that using a combination of any drugs at one given time does not equate to sensible either. The drugs that were included in this research were Cannabis, Ecstasy, Amphetamines and LSD. The study in this document will also include a measurement of recreation al use of these specific drugs along with others, in order to identify of which is most common, what other drugs most users have tried, followed by an evaluation into their reasonings why, and further analysis with regards to where the consumption takes place. As previously touched on, in Parker, Aldridge and Measham (1995) their investigation identified the gradual progressive nature of drug use from the sixties, seventies and eighties and how they differed from the nineties whereby the stereotypical drug user was no longer considered to be a part of a deviant subculture. Instead, they were found to be a part of mainstream youth culture that was said to be brought on by the shift in music at the time known as rave. The so-called dance music culture, inspired by DJs globally [x](Forsyth, Barnard and McKeganey, 1997), became normalised throughout society, which encouraged youths to party hard and indulge in party experiences. The nature of their consumption pursuits untimately led to the introduction if many exciting and experience enhancing drugs, such as ecstasy [xi](Pham and Puzantian, 2001). As is already known, since the nineties there has since been an ongoing culture of drug use amongst not only youths, but Britons in general, which still closely relates to the unprecedented nineties but instead of it just being rave related, it is now related to any experience where drugs could be seen as an enhancement. The core objective of this study aims to evaluate these theorys, as to whether Britons are taking drugs recreationally to feel good/enhance experiences, with a focus on the South West. Due to the influx of drug use becoming more substantial than ever in British history during the nineties, 1996 saw the Home Office begin recording trends on the phenomenon through the Crime Survey of England and Wales. In 1996, the percentages of drug users recorded amongst 16-24 year olds in the previous year, was an astonishing 30% that rose to 33% In 1999. This age group was considerably higher than the general population as a whole, which was recorded to be about 11% at the time. Since then though, the recorded figures show a relatively flat movement with no major rise or falls in percentages amongst the 16-59 age group. In comparison, the 16-24 age group figures have been dropping at a steady rate since 1996. However, 2013-2014 did see the slight increase of 4% compared to the previous year, this figure has remained around the same presently as last years percentages being around 18%. The year 2015-2016 shows that 1 in 12 (8.4%) of adults aged 16-59 had taken a drug in the last year, which equates to around 2.7 million people. The proportion of adults ages 16-24 taking drugs in the last year more than doubled the proportion of the relative 16-59 group. Despite the these disproportionate figures though, the Home Office Drug Misuse findings state that Over the last five years there has been some fluctuation in this series, but is likely that the recent trend in drug use among 16 to 24 year olds is relatively flat. However, the long-term trend is downward; the 2015/16 estimate is statistically significantly lower compared with 10 years ago (25.2% in the 2005/06 survey year) and with the start of the time series in 1996 (29.7%). These statistics essentially suggest a significant fall in most drug users. These figures, while they are dropping, are still considerably high. And so, the normalisation theory had been introduced, attempting to remove the stigmatism attached to young people who take drugs recreationally and move away from the idea that they are devia nts and/or involved in crimes. Another objective of the research in this dissertation using survey analysis is to identify young people in the South Wests perceptions of drug use figures compared to actual figures, and whether they match what is going on. Do they feel as though recreational drug use is dropping, staying the same or increasing? In Muncie 1999, it is identified that trends in drug use have changed from the addiction of drugs such as cocaine and heroin, to more leisurely drugs used by the modern youths in leisurely activities, they include, alcohol, cannabis and ecstasy. Although being under the influence when taking these drugs which may lead to crime, this could be considered out of character, and not creating a crime orientated lifestyle which harder drugs and addiction may create such as heroin [xii](Inciardi, 1979). An example could be the criminal behaviours that addiction to drug class A users may undergo such as theft, mugging, and burglary to fuel their habits and addictions [xiii](Parker and Newcombe, 1987). However, when a young person leisurely uses recreational drugs such as ecstasy or cannabis, this does not necessarily result in in person to undergo criminal activities or offences. A clear activist for such statements is Professor David Nutt who was the chair of the Advisory Council on the Misu se of Drugs, in 2009 however, [xiv]The Independent newspaper released an article stating that the professor was asked to resign because of his claims about illegal drugs such as ecstasy, LSD and cannabis being of less harm to human health than products legally available to the public like alcohol and tobacco. Although Parker et al. (1998) does not fully undertake postmodernism as structural inquality still exists, they believe that young peoples behaviour and choices have changed towards drugs due to a post-modern society that allows them to consume freely. For example, Mott and Mirrlees-Black (1993) found that the number of 16-19 year olds using cannabis more than doubled from 1983 to 1991. Normalisation has become an indicator of changes in social behaviour and cultural perspectives, meaning that the opinion about some illicit drugs has changed within the youth culture which in return affects their social behaviour as they do not think that using the drug is wrong or immoral. However, it could be argued that it is overgeneralizing to assume that all young people see drug use as normal, Dowds and Redfern (1994) found that approximately two-thirds of 12-15 year olds saw taking cannabis as a serious offense. Hunt and Stevens (2004) suggest that the government and media use drug normalisation as the proof for an increased disciplinary regulation and endorse policies as it is viewed to be a drug outbreak that needs to be broken or finished. For example, drug testing has been introduced in some schools to help prevent usage by young people (Craver, 2004). Illicit drug use is frequently associated with the youth culture, Robson (1994) points out that the most common time for using or trying drugs is between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four. It is suggested that this is due to adolescents being the time of experimentation in many aspects of life which can lead to rebellion. Coleman (1992:13) suggests a psychoanalytical-theory of three main reasons why young people and drugs are linked together: adolescence is a time of vulnerabilty as well as being impressionable, of rebellion and non-conformity and the need to be independant by disengaging from family relationships. These changes through adolescence support Colemans sociological theory that youth culture experiment in different social aspects of life, such as subcultures and trends or sexualities and in this case drugs. In relation to the normalisation theory, young people are able to experiment with drugs due to the wide availabilty of them as well as the access young people have to them due to people they know (Barton 2003). References [i] Judith Aldridge, 1998. Illegal Leisure (Adolescence and Society). 1 Edition. Routledge. [ii] Emerson, E., Hastings, R. and McGill, P. (1994). Values, attitudes and service ideology. Severe Learning Disabilities and Challenging Behaviours, pp.209-231. Last Accessed 02/02/20127 [iii] The Mental Retardation Act 1959. [iv] Bengt Nirje (1969). The Normalization Principle and its Human Management Implications. The International Social Role Valorization Journal, Vol. 1(2) 1994 [v] Wolfensberger, Wolf (1972) The Principle of Normalization in Human Services. Toronto, National Institute on Mental Retardation. [vi] Parker, H., Williams, L. and Aldridge, J. (2002). The Normalization of Sensible Recreational Drug Use. British Sociological Association, [online] 36(4). 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